The Common University Entrance Test (CUET), which is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), has recorded a 4 lakh increase in the total number of registrations since it was introduced in 2022. CUET 2023 has recorded 16.85 lakh registrations, of which 13.9 lakh candidates have submitted applications after payment of fees.
Also, this year’s registration has recorded a 50% hike in female candidates, with a 34% hike in male candidates. The 13.9 lakh registered candidates comprise 6.51 lakh females and 7.48 lakh males. When the CUET debuted in 2022, there were 4.34 lakh female and 5.56 lakh male applicants.
According to UGC Chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar, the number of participating universities has also increased manifold this year. This year, a total of 242 universities have enrolled, compared to 90 last year. He also added that this significant rise indicates that the CUET is gaining more popularity each year as a UG admission option.
Significant growth is also noticed among the different categories. There are 95,119 ST category candidates enrolled in 2023, compared to 58,881 last year. 1,40,307 SC category students have registered this year, which is a 35% hike from last year. OBC-NCL registrations increased by 45.2% and recorded 4,61,022 registrations. A 39.6% hike has been recorded in the Unreserved category, with 6,42,443 registrations. The EWS category saw a 20.5% increase with 60,611 registrations.
In terms of registrations, UP (Uttar Pradesh) and Bihar are the states with the foremost number of registered candidates. Although recently, a jump in the number of candidates registered from Jammu and Kashmir is also being observed.
